March 2018
The explosive growth in the e-commerce market has challenged distribution centers to meet demand. Read the March cover story to learn how to make warehouse logistics - Faster. Smarter. Safer.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 548,264 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.1 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending October 14 were 264,161 carloads, up 0.5 percent compared with the same week in 2016, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 284,103 containers and trailers, up 5.5 percent compared to 2016.

Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2016. They included nonmetallic minerals, up 4,974 carloads, to 40,007; metallic ores and metals, up 3,454 carloads, to 22,306; and chemicals, up 1,805 carloads, to 30,961. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2016 included grain, down 5,369 carloads, to 21,930; petroleum and petroleum products, down 1,533 carloads, to 8,959; and coal, down 1,419 carloads, to 86,292.

For the first 41 weeks of 2017, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 10,640,157 carloads, up 3.7 percent from the same point last year; and 11,002,145 intermodal units, up 3.7 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 41 weeks of 2017 was 21,642,302 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.7 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending October 14, 2017, on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 360,315 carloads, up 0.2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 368,404 intermodal units, up 8 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 728,719 carloads and intermodal units, up 4 percent. North American rail volume for the first 41 weeks of 2017 was 28,708,109 carloads and intermodal units, up 5 percent compared with 2016.

Canadian railroads reported 79,939 carloads for the week, down 1.9 percent, and 71,535 intermodal units, up 22 percent compared with the same week in 2016. For the first 41 weeks of 2017, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,945,902 carloads, containers and trailers, up 11.2 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 16,215 carloads for the week, up 5.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 12,766 intermodal units, down 4.8 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 41 weeks of 2017 was 1,119,905 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 0.6 percent from the same point last year.